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Romance and Me: The Much Hated/Beloved Love Triangle
Hey Everyone!
After a little break Romance and Me is back but this time we are not talking historical romances but a much debated and controversial romance trope: love triangles!
Love Triangles seem to be “in”, wherever you turn it seems every novel or movie features them, from the Twilight saga to the new Hunger Games movie it is everywhere.
And everyone seems to have their opinion about them, you either love or hate them, there is usually little middle ground.
I would say I am pro-love triangles. Maybe it’s because until now I have only encountered ones where
1) it was crystal clear to me with whom the heroine would end up, and
2) I was rooting for that hero.
Of course if I preferred the underdog hero maybe I’d have to revise my statement regarding love triangles (I’m a bit scared of reading the Hunger Games trilogy as based on the movie I am definitely Team Gale and not abhorring spoilers I already know how that one will end… 🙁 )
And that brings up spoilers. If you start a book/series where the final one is already available and the end is common knowledge: do you start the series blindly or do you do your research regarding the conclusion to the love triangle? Me I’m definitely in the 2nd category, I start the book already knowing with whom the heroine will end up (call it surviving or rather protective skills, I have to protect my poor heart, don’t want the unnecessary suffering of falling for a character and rooting for their HEA and then discover that the rival hero stole their HEA 🙁 )
And that also raises the question/problem of how an author can solve the issue of a love triangle. Because love triangles while keeping up the tension and suspense (and thus keeping readers all tangled up in an emotional mess) are complicated and messy. As author Erin Nicholas ponders this question in her post it is not easy on the author to bring a love triangle to an end and
1) not alienate 50% of their readers, and
2) not scar forever one of their (beloved) characters.
How to bring the love triangle to an end with keeping the complications to a minimum, not having the readers feeling sorry for Loser Hero and thus detracting from the HEA of the happy and finally reunited couple, as you can see is not an easy feat.
So tell me about your thoughts on Love Triangles,
Are you pro love triangles or do you hate them passionately? Why is that?
Any novels in which you liked/hated the love triangle?
Do you start a series blindly or by researching with whom the heroine/hero will end up with?
ps. As I have been pondering the mystery of the Love Triangle I came to a revelation: it seems that love triangles tend to feature more in paranormal and UF books/movies. I had dozens of paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels come to mind (Rachel Vincent’s Shifters’ series, Carolyn Crane’s Disillusionists trilogy, Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series, Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series, and I could go on the list is quite long and there are even more), but when I tried to think of contemporary romances or historical romances I drew a blank. (personal observation: if there are several heroes/heroines in a contemporary novel it is usually a ménage story, don’t you think?)
Do you think love triangles are more common / almost exclusive to the paranormal/UF genres?
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I hate love triangles for plethora of reasons. Plethora, not ‘a lot of’. Yes, it is that bad. ;p
Depends on the love triangle. In several of the examples you mentioned above, there might have been a triangle, but the *right* guy for the heroine was a foregone conclusion. In that case, you don’t have to worry about alienating readers because they should already be rooting for the right guy.
Nooo! No love triangles! It’s ok if another guy tries to put a few moves on the girl, as long as she turns him down but that is as far as i can go
I hate love triangles most of the times. They’re often unnecessary and just there for the extra drama or to make the heroine seem even more awesome. (because a woman who is desired by two men must be really special *gag*)
I did love the triangle in Carolyn Crane’s Disillusionists series though.
And yes: I totally look for spoilers, especially when I have the feeling my guy isn’t going to get the girl.
Ugh, you are correct, so many love triangles in UF. And I pretty universally hate them. Even when the couple I prefer gets together, I find the whole competition/emotional blackmail/ridiculous misunderstandings part super annoying.
@ Sullivan. YES. Agree. With the gagging. A good story doesn’t need the extra drama of “oh they are both so hot, what do I DO?!?!”
Mercy Thompson’s love triangle? UGH. One guy essentially married you without your consent, the other guy had a thing for you when you were 16? No.
Hunger Games love triangle? Peeta was so bloody boring, and then they had to turn the other dude into a sister-killer in order to make the decision all easy on her? Again, no.
I could go on.
I’m not that fond of love triangles either, but it does seem like they’re all over the place.
Just the other day I was thinking about one of my favorite anime and the love triangle in that, but I doubt Hollywood would be interested because the triangle is f/m/f not the usual m/f/m.
Actually, I was Team Peeta all the way. Being a baker, he’d never go hungry so she wouldn’t either, legally at least.
Lol, great post Stella, but I especially love the pictures, brings back fond memories of great tv shows.
I don’t really mind the love triangles, or perhaps don’t notice them in my books. Are they not most often found in YA? That is not my genre.
I do dislike the going back and forth between lovers, especially if she knows she is doing a wrong thing. And perhaps the old adagio is true: if the heroine really cannot choose, they are both wrong and not her true love.
I’ve seen it in historical novels some. I can’t think of any names of hand though. For some reason I’m thinking I’ve noticed it more in regencies. 🙂
As much I resented Edward’s getting the girl in Twilight, I have to say that I’m entirely pro-love triangles at the moment. Maybe that’s because in the majority of triangles I’ve read about, the character I’m rooting for usually gets the girl (Peeta in The Hunger Games *le sigh* and, even though Stefan’s turned bad for the moment, I’m hoping he and Elena will get back together very soon- and stay that way!). Yes, I love love triangles indeed!
Sarah